Cong should explain why it wasted Parliament's time: BJP

Taking a dig at the UPA government's announcement that it was not averse to discussion on FDI under any rule, BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu today asked the Congress to explain why it wasted four precious days of Parliament on the issue.

"Indifference, incompetence, incoherence and indecision of the Congress-led UPA government is costing the country dearly," he told reporters here.

Alleging that the Congress had failed to take its allies into confidence, Naidu said the party did not follow the "coalition dharma".

The moment the decision on FDI was announced, TMC left the alliance and other allies and supporting parties like DMK, SP and BSP said they were not consulted on the issue, he said.

Now, some parties, which opposed the FDI openly and went on record in Parliament besides supporting Bharat Bandh called by BJP, were arguing that they were backing the UPA government to keep the BJP at bay, he quipped.

Ridiculing the arguments of some parties backing the UPA government on the issue of FDI to prevent "communal" forces from coming to power, Naidu alleged "they (some allies) are not bothered about people's welfare but are only interested in their politics."

"It has become a habit with some parties to raise the bogus bogie of communalism as and when they have to back an opportunistic decision and make a U-turn to support the corrupt and anti-people government," the BJP leader alleged.

Asserting that his party stood firm on the decision to have a discussion and voting in Parliament on FDI issue, Naidu said the people of the country would then know the double standards of certain parties.

To a query on the announcement of cash transfer scheme, Naidu said, "We will study the scheme for its pros and cons in detail before taking a final decision."

A two-member committee constituted by party leader LK Advani would look into details of the scheme, he said.

Naidu, however, said there were villages with no bank branches at all. "Let the government first ensure opening of (banks) branches before its implementation," he stressed.